Kayaking - Red River - Lots of Animals

 Red River - Lots of Animals

It's December, but the weather got up to the 60s today so we definitely took advantage of this good weather and headed over to the Red River.  We were so glad that we did because we saw lots of animals this day.  At one point, we saw a coyote running down the right bank.  We followed him for a short distance and then saw him swim across the river.  I noticed another coyote up on the hill so he must have been running to meet him.  We also saw 2 eagles flying down the river in front of us.  We saw 2 turkeys, 2 deer, only a few turtles and we saw an otter swim to the cover of a submerged log.  All of those animals, and we didn't see a single soul!

I've never seen the Red River this clear!

You can see the 2 eagles flying.

See the eagle in the tree?

Harpeth River- Fall Beauty

 Harpeth River                                                       10 miles

Average Speed 3.3 mph, Max Speed 8.1 mph, Elapsed Time 3:31

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful fall day, but we've been avoiding weekend paddles during this pandemic.  So we headed over on this Monday.  The day did not disappoint!  Many of the leaves have fallen, but there were still enough to make it a fabulous fall day!  We had the river to ourselves and the pictures tell the story!

Kayaking - Watauga Lake, North Carolina

 Kayaking - Watauga Lake, North Carolina                              5.4 miles, avg speed 2.5 mph, 2 hr 24 min

From the waterfalls, we headed over to Watauga Lake,  This lake is fed by several rivers and surrounded by some small hills of the Cherokee National Forest.  There's a large parking area here and we noticed a few motor boats going into the lake.  One gentlemen pointed out the rivers to us and we headed towards the Elk River.  We're past the peak leaf color time, but there were still some pretty colors on the trees which made for a beautiful paddle.  I really enjoyed this paddle, the lake was calm, and the scenery was great.  I can only imagine how many photos I'd take if I were there at peak season.  It was a great way to end our week of adventures.  We changed out of our clothes, had lunch on the tailgate with a great view, and then headed back to Clarksville.  This was a very different vacation for us.  The hiking/kayaking wasn't different, but we wanted to limit our exposure to other people as much as possible since the cases of Coronavirus are steadily increasing across the US.  We noticed a big difference with masks here in North Carolina as the majority of people wore masks and when we passed people on the trail - either they got off the trail or we did.  It's also a stressful week across our nation as the election between Trump and Biden is occurring.  For me, it was great to be out in the outdoors and away from the nearly daily stress caused by the current administration.  For me, this week was a reminder to find the joy in each day such as being in God's creation, when there are things that are out of my control - such as the election (although I have done phone banking and letter writing).  

Hiking - Elk River Falls, North Carolina

Hiking - Elk River Falls, NC

We packed up and left our condo and drove over to Elk River Falls which was about a 25 minute drive.  We started hiking about 9:00 and the temperature was about 40 degrees.  Elk River Falls is right off the road and we only had to walk half a mile to get to the top of the falls.  From there, you walk down a path to where the waterfall drops.  At the bottom, there are several large boulders where we could walk around.  After yesterday's grueling walk, this was a breeze!!  There were signs about not jumping from the falls, and later research showed that there had been several deaths here.  

Hiking - Profile Trail at Grandfather Mountain, Blowing Rock, NC

 Hiking - Profile Trail at Grandfather Mountain                           6.4 miles

We left at 9:30 and the temperature was about 45°. There’s a large parking lot here and rest rooms. Once again there are signs everywhere about wearing mask and social distancing  - North Carolina is doing it right. At the beginning of this hike the trail goes down until you’re parallel with the river. It’s very pretty here and there are several waterfalls that come down toward the river. Eventually the trail starts to go up the mountain and we’re surrounded by trees and many fallen leaves. This trail has lots of rocks steps that have been placed along the trail. Finally the trail really starts to climb up the mountain in the hiking becomes harder. Now we have to navigate over exposed roots and of course the many rock steps. We eventually get to the campground which is actually a very nice campground. There are really large rocks around with places for tents in between. On a windy day those rocks would probably block the wind. Within passed a huge rock cliff that was lined with ice. About half a mile further, we got to Profile View.  From here we could look out and see North Carolina mountains in the distance and even one mountain peak in Virginia. If we turned back to where we had come from we could see the large rock folder which looks like a grandfather’s profile. I have to say that the last mile and a half of this hike was quite strenuous and as the altitude kept rising, it kept getting harder. This is an an attitude of about 5500 feet so we climbed about 1500 feet today. This is where we ended our route. Had we gone on we would’ve eventually reached some ladders and some trails with cables and steep precipices. It was hard enough so I didn’t feel like I wanted to challenge myself anymore and one of the pressures even cautioned death as a possibility - not a real enticement for me. The hike down was a joy, we’re almost a joy because it wasn’t as hard as going up. We did pass lots of people on this trail today, it’s always nice to see people outside enjoying nature. As I’m writing this blog, I’ve been comatose on her couch. This hike wore me out

North Carolina is taking the virus seriously!